Advancement group earns top spot

SAINT AUGUSTINE — Flagler College’s Society for Advancement of Management (SAM) team recently took home first place at the organization’s 2017 Case Competition in Orlando, held from March 30 to April 2 at the annual SAM conference. Janell Collins, Mary-Jo Lendering, Matheus Menezes and Nick Pappas joined more than 100 students from 25 colleges nationwide to compete in the competition, in which students were tasked with analyzing a marketplace problem facing the social media company Facebook. Through their analysis, they examined possible solutions and proposed the most effective one to ensure the company’s sustained, future success.

“I was speechless,” Lendering said about hearing they claimed the top spot. “The presenter took forever to announce the winners. Once they mentioned third and second place, we knew we either won or we didn’t even place at all. By the time they called our names, all I wanted to do was jump with joy, but we kept it very cool.”

The weekend’s win brings Flagler’s total number of titles to 10, the most in the history of the society.

In the case study, the Flagler students identified a problem regarding the increased use of ad-blockers on Facebook’s site. To address it, they applied business concepts, including a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis; and employed measures to mitigate the issue and generate more revenue for the company. Their ideas culminated in a 15-minute presentation to judges.

“I am so proud of this team,” said Paula Holanchock, SAM advisor and assistant professor of Business Administration. “They demonstrated amazing team skills by collaborating their skills and knowledge and working hard to present their case. Their presentation was seamless and representative of all the amazing faculty members within the Business Department at Flagler who helped prepare the students to compete at such a prestigious level.”

SAM, an organization with more than 50 student chapters across the country, aims to provide its members “opportunities to increase management skills and expertise through participation in programs and services designed to improve the professional quality of their knowledge, performance, and leadership ability.”